## Appendix 3: Progress against Equalities Action Plan 2018/19

| Equalities Action Plan 2018/19 | Lead | Timescale | Progress at June 2019 | Comment | |--------------------------------|------|-----------|-----------------------|---------| | **Mainstream equalities into the business of the organisation** | | | | | | Monitor existing commitments to incorporate equalities considerations into strategies and decision-making, ensuring due regard is given to the needs of different groups | Deputy Chief Executive, Strategic Directors, Legal and Governance | Ongoing via EIAs | Ongoing via EIAs | | | Leading on the development and implementation of a fully mainstreamed approach to Equalities within the council following the departure of the Equalities Lead. | Deputy Chief Executive, CMT EDI Lead, Strategic Directors, Strategy Team | September 2018 onwards | Commenced and ongoing for 2019 | See 2019/20 action plan | | Set-up and develop a network of Equalities Champions to provide peer to peer equalities support across the council. | Strategy Team, Equalities Champions | September 2018 | Completed | A review of the Equalities Champions programme will be carried out in 2019 | | Hold quarterly Equalities Champions Network meeting to monitor the effectiveness and gather feedback on the new approach | Strategy Team, Equalities Champions | Quarterly from September 2018 | Ongoing | First meeting took place on 28 November 2018 | | Produce an Annual Equalities Report setting out the Council’s commitment and activities relating to equalities and analysing key equality issues, trends and priorities, and publish this on the council’s website | Strategy Team | To be published in June 2019 | Completed | Annual Equalities Report 2018/19 submitted to Policy and Resources Committee, 11 June 2019 | | Monitor progress against the council’s Strategic Equalities Objective and identify any | Strategy Team | To be published | Published through the | The indicators can be found in the Annual | | Equalities Action Plan 2018/19 | Lead | Timescale | Progress at June 2019 | Comment | |-------------------------------|------|-----------|-----------------------|---------| | emerging issues shown by the data | | in June 2019 | Annual Equalities Report 18/19. | Equalities Report, section 3.4 | | **Incorporate equality considerations into the business planning process** | | | | | | Review the current integration of equalities into the business planning process and implement any steps needed to improve this, as laid out in the Internal Audit Report | Strategy Team | January 2019 | Commenced and ongoing for 2019 | A meeting is scheduled for June 2019 with Legal Services and Finance to review current processes for the 2019/20 business planning process | | | Legal Services | | | | | | Strategic Directors | | | | | | Corporate Finance and Delivery Units (DUs) | | | | | Develop analysis of the cumulative impact on specific groups (particularly protected characteristics) of decisions taken to set the Council’s budget for 2019-20, and publish this with the 2019-20 budget report. | Strategy Team | February 2019 | Completed | | | An update to the Strategic Equalities Objective and performance measurement as part of the business planning process and update of the Corporate Plan | Strategy Team | November 2018- March 2019 | Completed | | | Equalities Action Plan 2018/19 | Lead | Timescale | Progress at June 2019 | Comment | |-------------------------------|------|-----------|----------------------|---------| | **Resources, support and capacity-building** | | | | | | Maintain guidance and support on equalities | Strategy Team | Ongoing | Ongoing | | | | Legal Services | | | | | | Programmes and Performance Team | | | | | **Promote community cohesion and resilience** | | | | | | Support the Communities Together Network to promote community wellbeing and encourage safe and cohesive communities (facilitating three meetings a year; developing and delivering a forward plan) | Strategy Team | Ongoing | Ongoing | | | **Policy and horizon-scanning** | | | | | | Maintain a horizon-scanning process to identify any relevant policy developments, their impact, and any response needed (such as the upcoming reviews of the Human Rights Act and the Public Sector Equality Duty). | Strategy Team | Ongoing | Ongoing | Strategy Team will be producing regular policy briefings in an email bulletin. These will look ahead at local, national and international policy developments, including those with Equalities impact | | Carry out an annual review of the Council’s Equalities Policy to ensure it remains up to date and accessible internally and externally via intranet and internet pages. | Strategy Team | December 2018 | Commenced | The Equalities Policy will be updated over the summer of 2019 | | Equalities Action Plan 2018/19 | Lead | Timescale | Progress at June 2019 | Comment | |--------------------------------|------|-----------|-----------------------|---------| | **Support a robust and representative corporate consultation and engagement function** | | | | | | Work with the Council’s Local Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) through CTN and community participation lead to engage with hard to reach groups and communities and understand any key equalities issues. | Strategy Team | Ongoing | Ongoing | The Strategy Team continue to work with partner organisations in order to engage with Barnet’s diverse communities. For example, the recent establishment of a Muslim Network has enabled positive discussions between members of different Islamic faiths. | | Use the Communities Together Network (CTN) where appropriate to support relevant corporate consultation and engagement | Communications | Ongoing | Ongoing | For example, the CTN was used to encourage people to participate in the consultation on the refresh of council priorities to inform the Corporate Plan, Barnet 2024. The CTN was also a key stakeholder in the development of the 2018 Community Participation Action | | Equalities Action Plan 2018/19 | Lead | Timescale | Progress at June 2019 | Comment | |-------------------------------|------|-----------|-----------------------|---------| | | | | | Plan. |